Solved Delete/Move selected files after a Search

Hello guys, when using the search bar in explorer you get a list of the files that match your search.

Since ancient times you could move or delete the files shown in the search results... I don't seem to be able to do that now. Am i missing something?
Did they really remove that functionality?

That seems insane to me.

Hi welcome to the forum,
Please consider filling out your system specs with more details when you have a chance.

The setting you are looking for is;

Settings/Privacy & Security/Activity History

RaptorX said:

Did they really remove that functionality?

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum. No, it's still there for me. Pressing the Shift + F10 keys while having something selected will open the "Show more options" context menu for that item.
OR you can disable the 'show more options' and revert back to the old right click context menu entirely.

glasskuter said:

Welcome to the forum. No, it's still there for me. Pressing the Shift + F10 keys while having something selected will open the "Show more options" context menu for that item.
OR you can disable the 'show more options' and revert back to the old right click context menu entirely.

Disable "Show more options" context menu in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable having to click on "Show more options" to see the full context menu for your account or all users in Windows 11. When you right click on an item in Windows 11, you will see a new modern condensed context menu with Show more options...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

I have a bit more context.

I just noticed that when I perform a normal search, everything works as expected, with copying/cutting/deleting working correctly.
But if you are performing a search on file contents then that's when those options seem to be disabled.

Those are e-mail messages, are they saved to a local folder or part of your Outlook? Windows Search will index Outlook messages.
If they're still in Outlook, then obviously Explorer won't delete them.

Otherwise the Cut/Copy/Delete toolbar icons are available on my Explorer's search results (22621.2070)

garlin said:

Those are e-mail messages, are they saved to a local folder or part of your Outlook? Windows Search will index Outlook messages.
If they're still in Outlook, then obviously Explorer won't delete them.

Otherwise the Cut/Copy/Delete toolbar icons are available on my Explorer's search results (22621.2070)

Click to expand...

Those are .eml files in a folder.

The answer to your question, it turns out, is that's the normal behavior for *.eml files -- ever since Windows 7.

A limited group of file extensions have defined Property Handlers, which restrict what actions may be taken. When *.eml files are displayed in the folder view, they're treated like normal files. When returned in the context of Search results, they stop being normal files and don't have Cut, Rename and Delete actions.

PeterSteier provides his solution here:
Why do .eml files (stored in the regular file system!) not allow delete or move?

There's just one problem, one of the reg keys is protected by TrustedInstaller rights. I don't advise users to follow the normal takeown/icacls commands to take ownership of the registry. There's always a risk of messing up, and breaking Windows.

My preference is to use PowerRun, which opens an elevated CMD window with correct privileges.

From the elevated CMD, run Fix_EML.bat
To revert the change, run Restore_EML.bat

Close any Explorer window you have open, and wait about two seconds. Now *.eml files will behave exactly as normal files inside Search results.

garlin said:

The answer to your question, it turns out, is that's the normal behavior for *.eml files -- ever since Windows 7.

A limited group of file extensions have defined Property Handlers, which restrict what actions may be taken. When *.eml files are displayed in the folder view, they're treated like normal files. When returned in the context of Search results, they stop being normal files and don't have Cut, Rename and Delete actions.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. Do you know what other file extensions behave that way?

I've never paid any attention to this problem, until you pointed it out.

When you check the Property Handlers, .eml used a completely unique ID that wasn't shared by other Office file extensions. I would assume there's specific reason why it's done, but I'm not that bored to compile a list. These days I try moving on to the next question once there's a working answer.

garlin said:

I've never paid any attention to this problem, until you pointed it out.

When you check the Property Handlers, .eml used a completely unique ID that wasn't shared by other Office file extensions. I would assume there's specific reason why it's done, but I'm not that bored to compile a list. These days I try moving on to the next question once there's a working answer.

Click to expand...

Fair enough, thanks for the help!

garlin said:

My preference is to use PowerRun, which opens an elevated CMD window with correct privileges.

Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing out PowerRun. I've used AdvancedRun in the past to run stuff as TrustedInstaller. It's always handy to have an alternative or two in the toolkit.

PowerRun seems like the most intuitive tool for non-technical users. Sometimes you need software that doesn't distract users from whatever task they're supposed to finish.